Travel ban disputes continue as federal judge blocks ban

In order to fulfill his campaign promise President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that bans citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) from entering the United States.

The result of the travel ban has been chaos and confusion among officials responsible for carrying out the ban. Stephen Heifetz, who has served in CIA and the Justice department had strong words about the lack of organization by the Trump administration, “The details of it were not thought through, It is not surprising there was mass confusion, and I expect the confusion and chaos will continue for some time” as the New York Times reports him stating.

Perhaps Trump thought the details would sort themselves out upon signing the executive order because it is evident that Border and Customs officials were taken by surprise upon the signing of the travel ban; the New York Times reports that officials received very brief instructions on how to enforce the new ban and many managers were even unsure how to enforce the executive order.

The chaos and confusion following the signing of the travel ban shows President Trump’s lack of understanding of the basic tenants of governing. Aside from the poor implementation of the travel ban, one must wonder whether Trump has the power to implement such a restrictive immigration order.

The Trump administration has maintained they can carry out such a sweeping travel ban because the citizens from the seven countries banned pose a threat to the United States and is detrimental to the country’s interests. However, out of the seven countries that were put on the travel ban list, not one of them poses an imminent threat to United States security.

The district court who ruled that the travel ban should continue to be blocked expressed their skepticism of an imminent threat, “The government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States.”

In fact, one could argue enacting that travel ban is counterproductive, banning citizens from the seven predominantly Muslim countries will create more resentment and animosity towards the United States. Not only has the executive order banned travel from seven countries it has also suspended the refugee program.

Also, the order does not allow syrian refugees to enter the country among other Muslim dominated countries. Although, the order does give government officials the power to prioritize refugee claims on the basis of “of religious-based persecution.” In other words, Trump is going to give priority to Christian refugees over Muslim ones, which is blatant disregard for our country’s founding principles and our first amendment rights.

In Trump’s haste to enact the travel ban he has caused more damage than he can foresee. Many families found themselves stuck in airports hours after the travel ban was enacted, among those that found themselves unable to enter the United States were many intellectuals and people coming here to do research at universities.

As a nation, we should welcome those who wish to help the U.S. advance as a society, as opposed to banning them from the country because of certain religious beliefs. In conclusion, the poor enactment of the travel ban exposes Trump’s inexperience in the political realm and his insensitivity toward America’s core values.